Reconfigurable Event-Driven Hardware for Low-Power Sensor Monitoring

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Solution Overview

Problem

Energy-constrained electronic systems face significant power dissipation issues due to continuous sensing applications, as primary processors are required to remain active for extended periods, preventing them from entering low power consumption modes and thus reducing battery life.

Innovation Solution

Implementing reconfigurable event-driven hardware that offloads sampling and signature detection tasks from primary processors, utilizing neurobiological principles like reservoir computing to enable low-power continuous monitoring and invoke the processor only when trigger signatures are detected.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the primary processor continuously monitors sensory streams to detect trigger signatures, then detection reliability is improved, but energy consumption increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetrigger signature detection reliabilityVSAvoidprimary processor energy consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system divides the processing function into two segments: a low-power dedicated monitoring circuit that continuously samples sensors and a primary processor that enters sleep mode. The monitoring circuit segments the continuous monitoring task from the primary processor, allowing it to operate independently at minimal power while maintaining detection reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

A dedicated low-power monitoring circuit acts as an intermediary between the sensors and the primary processor. This intermediary continuously monitors sensory streams and only activates the primary processor when trigger signatures are detected, thereby maintaining detection reliability while dramatically reducing the primary processor's energy consumption.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Duration of action of stationary object

If the primary processor remains active for continuous sensing applications, then monitoring duration is improved, but battery life deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontinuous monitoring durationVSAvoidbattery life

Core Design Contradiction:

Duration of action of stationary objectVSDuration of action of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The primary processor operates periodically rather than continuously - entering sleep mode during intervals between trigger events and activating only when needed. This periodic operation pattern extends battery life while the dedicated monitoring circuit ensures continuous sensing coverage, maintaining monitoring duration without sacrificing battery life.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

Solution Approach 2:

The dedicated monitoring circuit serves itself by autonomously performing continuous sensor sampling and trigger detection without requiring the primary processor to remain active. This self-service capability allows the primary processor to enter low-power states, thereby extending battery life while maintaining continuous monitoring capability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Use of energy by moving object

If a low-power microcontroller is used for continuous sensing, then energy consumption is reduced, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontinuous sensing energy consumptionVSAvoidsystem architecture complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Use of energy by moving objectVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the continuous monitoring function from the primary processor and implements it in a dedicated low-power circuit. This extraction eliminates the need for a separate low-power microcontroller, reducing device complexity while maintaining low energy consumption for continuous sensing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the mechanical/computational approach of using a microcontroller with a dedicated hardware circuit implementation. This substitution uses specialized hardware logic instead of a general-purpose microcontroller, reducing both power consumption and system complexity by eliminating the need for software execution and general-purpose processing resources.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS10013048B2Reconfigurable event driven hardware using reservoir computing for monitoring an electronic sensor and waking a processor

Publication Date: 2018.07.03 WISCONSIN ALUMNI RES FOUND

AI summary

The present inventors have recognized that proper utilization of reconfigurable event driven hardware may achieve optimum power conservation in energy constrained environments including a low power general purpose primary processor and one or more electronic sensors. Aspects of neurobiology and neuroscience, for example, may be utilized to provide such reconfigurable event driven hardware, thereby achieving energy-efficient continuous sensing and signature reporting in conjunction with the one or more electronic sensors while the primary processor enters a low power consumption mode. Such hardware is event driven and operates with extremely low energy requirements.